20 gallon HDPE barrel.

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crt052681

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My father just gave me a 20 gallon barrel the once held 7-up. The barrel is blue and is stamped HDPE on the bottom. I opened the barrel and it still smells like 7-up, so I am fairly confident that there has been nothing else in the barrel. My father bought the barrel from some place (not sure where) that sells them, or had a bunch on hand to sell ($3 i think he said).

Question is, can it / should it be used for a fermenter. I would assume it is food grade (HDPE, 7-up), but wanted expert opinions...

I'm also looking for any other suggestions on how I might be able to incorporate this barrel into my brew system.

Thanks in advance.
 
$3?! Can you send me a couple?

Are you sure it had 7-Up? The sanitizer they use to clean kegs smells exactly like 7-Up, and it might have been sanitized.

Regardless, I'd rinse it well, soak it in some StarSan or a similar acid-based sanitizer, and call it good. One note: Resist any temptation to scrub with anything rougher than the soft side of a kitchen sponge. Rough scrubbing on HDPE can create nasty scratches that can harbor bacteria.
 
Thanks doggage,

My bad, it was Ginger Ale. Here is a pic. So I shouldn't worry about the blue leaching?


20GalBarrel.jpg


I was also thinking that arturo7. I have kegs for that though. Maybe Mashtun?
 
I have two of those in the 15 gallon size I plan on using as fermenters at some point... Trying to figure out how to put a racking arm in one down low so I don't have to siphon that SOB...
 
I would be interested in one of these, can you find out where your father got it?
 
Call your local Coca-Cola bottling plant and ask about buying used drums.
Here in Nashville, they sell both the 15 and 55gallon drums for under $10/per, and give away as many of the 5gallon drums as you can carry.
(I think it was $3 for the 15gallon, and $8 for the 55gallon)

(In other news, you can fit 2x55gallon drums, 2x15gallon drums, and 4x 5 gallon drums inside a Jeep Cherokee with the back seat folded down. but you can't see out the back.)
 
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